Systems and methods for ink jet printing on textiles are well known. “Direct to garment” printing provides for the production of an image by placing ink drops directly onto the textile (garment) at distinct adjacent sites. This method of digital printing on textiles normally features an ink jet printer which applies ink on top of the textile. Herein a textile is defined as a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial fibers often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw wool fibers, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands known as yarn. Textiles are formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or pressing fibers together. When applied, the ink penetrates the textile saturating the fibers, which is desirable for the image to be wash fast, meaning the ink does not rinse away when the textile is laundered. However, if the ink soaks down too deeply into the fibers the image vibrancy and resolution is adversely affected.
One way ink is delivered to the textile is through print heads in a manner similar to that employed by standard ink jet printers used for printing on paper products. Changes in textile thickness and print heads settings as well as environmental changes and different weaves from different mills impact the degree to which the ink beds down or saturates into the textile. In order to obtain the most vibrant and durable images on a textile, it is desirable to minimize the saturation of the fibers. In addition, current methods also produce colors that lack vibrancy, vividness and clarity because the ink when applied directly to the textile over saturates the textile. Embodiments of the present invention provide novel systems, methods and devices for digitally printing an image on a textile. Furthermore, the exemplar embodiments of the novel methods and systems herein restrict the inks ability to saturate the textile which increases the vibrancy, clarity and resolution of the image on the textile.